Monday, July 31, 2017

Have you ever noticed that there are two different versions of the cover of Whiz Comics #2? A few months ago I noticed some differences in what was being shown as the cover of Whiz Comics #2 on different websites. As a Captain Marvel fan I thought it was important that I know what the true and original cover was. You can see the differences by taking a look at the two examples below.

Example #1

Example #2

Notice that in Example #1, the words 'Gangway for Captain Marvel!' are missing from the bottom right, and on the left-hand side it only shows one bad guy near the car. In Example #2, it has the words 'Gangway for Captain Marvel!' on the lower right and has two bad guys near the car! This made for a Captain Marvel comic cover conundrum - which one is the real and original cover to Cap's first comic? (Note: There are a couple of other minor differences, but I just wanted to capture the major differences!)

I've discovered that the original cover to Whiz Comics #2 is Example #2 above. I determined that as I was doing some research on the differences and came across an auction for an original copy of the comic. Below is a picture of the item that was up for auction.

As you can see, this is an original copy of Whiz Comics #2 and it clearly displays both the words 'Gangway for Captain Marvel!' and the two bad guys by the car! That solved the mystery of which cover was the original and put an end to my comic cover conundrum!

Monday, July 3, 2017

Did you know that Mary Marvel was once sent an extra powerful lightning bolt to get her out of a trap set by Sivana? We learn about this in Mary Marvel #1 (published November 14, 1945*) where Sivana tricked her into wearing earrings that prevented her from gaining the Shazam powers.

We know that when Mary says the magic word, "Shazam!" she is transformed into Mary Marvel by a magic lightning bolt. We learned in Whiz Comics #125, it's Zeus that throws the magic lightning that transforms Mary's brother Billy Batson into Captain Marvel (you can read about that here)!

In Mary Marvel #1, we find that Mary calls out to her patron goddesses to help her out of Sivana's trap and they respond! Minerva orders Hippolyta to fashion an extra powerful lightning bolt to help Mary. Hippolyta prepares the bolt and throws it from the heavens! The powerful magic lightning defeats Sivana's trap and transforms Mary into Mary Marvel and restores the Shazam powers to her.

So now we know that Zeus throws the magic lightning to transform Billy into Captain Marvel, and it's Hippolyta that throws the magic lightning that transforms Mary into Mary Marvel!